My new neighbor moved in when I was in New York last month. Her name is Marie Monique, and she's from Madagascar. I can't talk to her very much. But I say things like, "Je m'appelle Jane. Je suis americaine." She came on a contract to work and live in a house as a domestic worker.
The woman who had her position before her, Helen, was from the Phillipines. Helen and I talked a lot. I gave her books to read in English and materials to learn Arabic. The Arabic materials really opened up a whole new world for her. After three years, she was speaking very well, but she never saw it written. Now she could learn the correct sounds and some of the grammar, and she could start to fix her own mistakes. Helen spent most of her time locked in the house alone. (They locked her in out of the common fear/perception/myth that "maids" will run away--after stealing all your stuff.) So she was able to watch a lot of TV, which greatly improved her English.
I see Marie most of the time from my kitchen window when she stands at hers. Across the way, we talk. I'm teaching her Arabic. The sooner she's figuring out what they're saying, the better for her. That's how I figure it.
This morning, I called the pastor of the Malagasy church, a woman who's been here for 10 years. Marie can open the door, but not the iron gate in front of it. So through the bars, I handed her the phone. I'm sure she has not talked to anyone in her language since she arrived. She was asking about making phone calls. Her employers haven't taken her to the centrale to use the phone yet.
What to do? I didn't dare talk to the employers when Helen was there. I didn't want her to get in trouble and make her situation worse. But I wanted to talk to those people after Helen left, before the new woman came. Sadly, I missed my window of opportunity because I was in New York.
My roommate came in late last night from the U.S. She saw me in the hall talking to Marie. I introduced them briefly. Later, all tired and jet-lagged, she mumbled, "Why am I back in such a f--- up country that trades in slaves?"
This woman came to work under a "contract." She will not see her wages for the first three months. (It's illegal under international law for the agencies to do this.) I wonder what it's supposed to be, maybe $100/month? I'll ask. And then I'll ask when she sees it. She doesn't really know what she's in for. In the meantime, I'll try to learn some French.
3 comments:
Not paid for three months??? That can't be right. I'm sure Marie is glad to have a friend like you.
From your blog, I've noticed that you've been working in Lebanon for a while. While you were a teacher, did they pay you well, or were you underpaid like Marie?
Take care & God Bless.
Working in fancy American schools, I had a great salaries. But in one school, I had a major problem when my principal decided to interpret my contract so that he didn't have to pay me in full. For an entire school year, he told me he'd look into it. Finally, after threatening to call a lawyer in the US and bring it to the parents committe did he decide to pay me.
But it's a great point. In Lebanon, no workers are really protected. If someone doesn't pay you, they don't pay you. Salaries, however, are monthly. So people would just walk out and stop working if they weren't getting paid. For women stuck in houses in a foreign country, they can't so easily just stop working for the person.
Thanks Jane. I am considering working as a teacher in Lebanon and I want to avoid any pitholes in the job-finding process.
Are you able to tell me (from your own experience and from what you've heard) which schools are good and bad to work for? Also, what is the salary range for teachers?
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Take care & God Bless.
Joe.
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